Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.
you see many of us the problem of us
getting along with other people is our
inability to get along with ourselves
everything visible and physical is
preceded by something invisible and
spirit the consequences we are dealing
with in our lives in our homes in our
culture we are dealing with them because
there is a gap between where God is and
where we are he wants to know that you
want him and not just wanted stuff see a
lot of folk go to church to get God
stuff but who don’t want the God who
gives it so if you’re in distress
don’t let that drive you away draw you
near when you get close and want to live
for him want to please him want to honor
him want to exalt him want to draw near
to him then heaven opens up and he lets
you find
a crisis is when you are overwhelmed by
negative events or situations or
circumstances causing you to feel
helpless or hopeless it is where the
events that are overwhelming you are
beating at your well-being whether it’s
a health crisis family crisis monetary
crisis mental crisis it’s beating you
down and there isn’t a solution clearly
in sight but where do you go when your
life is in a crisis no words
none of the places you look to to
resolve it can help you that’s our
situation in Johnny Levin now let’s set
the stage Lazarus is sick and we know
from the story he’s sick unto death
because it would only be a few days
later he would die so he’s not just sick
he’s seriously sick and whatever medical
help there was was insufficient to
resolve the problem of his medical
crisis
so what Martha and Mary did the sisters
of Lazarus is they went to Jesus they
sent word to Jesus you and I would call
that today they prayed they sent word to
Jesus Jesus our family member has a
crisis there’s a life-and-death crisis
and we’re crying to you to resolve the
crisis now I want you to observe
something we’re told in verse 3 some of
their prayer requests the one whom you
love is sick we’re told in verse 5 now
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and
Lazarus so evidently spiritual people
gets it so they prayed they said words
of Jesus the one whom you love is sick
and it’s serious Jesus sends back a word
this sickness verse 4 is not to end in
death but for the glory of God so that
the Son of God may be glorified that’s
pregnant with theology he says first of
all I’ve got good news for you bad as it
is this sickness is not unto death but
God wants to get something out of it so
let me give you and me and us theology
and whatever the sickness is you’re
facing the scenario of the crisis that
you will face God will allow things in
our lives that are not preferential to
us but
glorifying to him this sickness is not
unto death but it is for the glory of
God so one of the questions you must ask
and answer in prayer when you are in
when I’m in when we’re in a crisis is
you must answer the question God what
glory do you want from my crisis but I
got a problem my problem is verse 6 when
he heard he was sick he stayed two days
longer in the place where he was come on
Jesus where Jesus was and where Martha
and Mary were two miles apart so not
only does he delay he delays any clothes
after two days
Jesus tells his disciples let’s go to
Judea so let’s go guys
then he says something else a new term
for Christians verse 11 he said to them
our friend cause remember Lazarus is
close to Jesus our friend Lazarus has
fallen asleep but I go so that I may
awake him out of his sleep verse 13 now
Jesus had spoken of his death but he
doesn’t say he died he said he’s
sleeping this is a different terminology
this is new the word sleep is only used
of Christians in the Bible so not use
this general public only used of
Christians one thing messed me up beat
in two days come on Jesus hurry up
second thing messed me up is two miles
you close but the next thing that messes
me up in verse 15 is and I am glad for
your sakes that I was not there come on
now how you gonna be happy about it
Martha’s talking she’s listening so
there is a question on the floor both
sisters have the same question but they
approach the question differently
Martha raises the question in verse 21
Martha said to Jesus Lord if you had
been here my brother would not have died
verse 32 therefore when Mary came where
Jesus was she saw him fell on his feet
saying Lord if you would have been here
my brother would not have died those are
the exact same words both sisters which
means they have discussed Jesus
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you serve him through this ministry we
can’t do it let me make sure I’m being
rolling anybody here ever been felt God
has let you down doc God where were you
got to put it in another word don’t you
care
be this close stay two days longer and
be glad doesn’t make sense if you would
have been here she expresses her pain
and disappointment to Jesus point is
okay to be honest in your prayers then
neither sister is condemned because they
express disappointment with God God’s
son after she expresses her
disappointment she goes on to say in
verse 22 even now I know that whatever
you ask of God God will give to you whoa
I don’t want you to miss this Jesus
verse 21 I’m hurt
because I needed you and you didn’t come
but however in spite of my pain I know
my beliefs and if you call on the father
now as bad as this situation is he will
still honor your request so she marries
watch this she marries her emotions with
her theology so you want to always have
a theological and doctrinal foundation
when you are emoting over your
circumstances
she is emoting about her pain but
retreating to her theology that’s why
you need to learn doctrine she says look
right now I’m disappointed but I know
what I believe and I’m going to appeal
to what I believe in spite of how I feel
right now so you need to learn some
theology and doctrine because that will
ground you when the emotions are doing
this and when you’re in a crisis that’s
what the emotions do as you’ll see here
in a second
Jesus says to her your brother will rise
again she says to Jesus yeah yeah no I
learned theology went to eschatology
class on the last day he gonna rise I
know I know about that then Jesus hits
her with another theology can I talk
some theology here because I want to
ground you I want to root you he says I
am the resurrection and the life he who
believes in Me will live even if he dies
doctrine is critical but doctrine is
always to lead to a person if all you
get is doctrine you may be heavy in the
head with information but light on the
experience you may know about the
resurrection but never experience one
because he says the resurrection that’s
doctrinal is tied to a person so here
this point the written word must always
lead you to the Living Word if you see
we have two extremes some are so
Orthodox with the written word that they
can quote the Bible quanto theology
quote the doctrine but never have the
experience because they are tethered to
the written word alone this other side
wants to fall in love with Jesus with no
doctrine so they live on the emotion of
the experience without the end
underpinning of theology you need the
doctrine to know what to believe you
need the person to make it experiential
in your belief if you read the Bible but
you don’t see Jesus your eyes say close
even though your heart burns at the
Bible study he told her that he told the
Pharisees he says you you search the
scriptures you read your Bible but you
still don’t experience me so the goal of
this church the goal of your life is
through the written word to come into an
experience of the Living Word which the
Holy Spirit offers to every believer who
seeks to do that ok let me run one cuz
because I’m just in the introduction ok
no just kidding
says I’m the resurrection he says at the
end of verse 26 do you believe this this
is gonna be critical this is gonna be
this will change your life do you
believe this she says yes I believe you
are the Christ the Son of God who comes
into the world now it’s Mary’s turn Mary
not coming to Jesus she’s too
disappointed and let’s tell the truth
sometimes you’re so disappointed with
Jesus you don’t want to talk to it the
game I raised here to tell you don’t
wanna pray no more okay good because
he’s not moving he came too late should
have been here yesterday okay that kind
of thing so she one side so Jesus calls
her he says Mary come on come on come
talk to me now he bids us come she gets
up quickly because he invited her and
then she tells him verse 32 if you would
have been here my brother would not have
died now in verse 33 everybody’s crying
we’ve got a weeping time because when
you’re in pain you’re going to cry if
it’s hurts bad enough when you have your
crisis it will bring you to tears if it
hurts bad enough in your particular
situation but I feel much better in
verse 35 the shortest verse in the Bible
when I read Jesus wept he wasn’t too big
to cry he the son of God Jesus cried why
because Hebrews chapter 4 verses 14 to
16 says that he sympathizes with our
infirmities he hurts with our pain I
have good news when tears are coming
down your eyes they’re coming down his
eyes because the Bible says he feels
your pain he feels what you feel when
you’re in a crisis so now Jesus raises
the question where have you laid him
where is he buried so they come to take
Jesus to a was buried and he stirred up
verse 38 sense
he’s deeply moved within he’s moved at
the sin and the pain that the world
offers that creates sickness in the
first place
without sin there would be no sickness
without not not personal sin necessarily
but atmospherics in the germs the
viruses the bacterias that infiltrate
our body the toxins all of that is the
environmental repercussions of sin and
he was stirred up and the crisis that
they were in and the reasons for it and
so he says stay with me here verse 39
Martha remove the stone
Martha’s response Martha said to him
Lord by this time there will be a cinch
for he has been dead for days
remember that delay by this time he
sinks jesus said move the stone she says
let me give you a lesson in mortuary
science he been dead for days rigor
mortis has set in which means the cells
have collapsed when rigor mortis sets in
and the cells collapse it releases a
green substance when this green
substance is released because ricca
mortis has set in because the cells has
collapsed that produces a stench because
of the decay
he said remove the stone and what what
did he tell her he said did not I say to
you if you believe you would see the
glory of God in other words here it is
faith must always precede sight once you
put sight in front of faith because you
were from Missouri once you put sight in
front of faith you’ve negated faith
faith is based on what you do not see if
you’ve got to see it first you won’t see
it
No and how would she demonstrate faith
not by a feeling but by removing the
stone because faith is not a feeling
it’s an actions as you’ve heard me say
many times faith is acting like God is
telling the truth it is acting like it
is so even when it’s mad so in order
that it might be so simply because God
said so so you move in faith even when
you don’t feel it sometimes you’re gonna
feel faith ish got faith all over you
you just feel it
sometimes you won’t ever feel faith ish
but you can know you’re operating in
faith because you move in the stone so
some of us have situations that have not
changed because we still have been
conversations and have not touched the
stone the thing that God told us to do
that we refused to do which keeps the
stone there which means there’s no faith
no matter how much church you have then
Jesus raised his eyes and said father I
thank you that you have heard me oh
that’s theology there you’re praying
through a crisis you’re talking to God
but here’s what you want you want Jesus
talking to God for you see you gotta
talk to him first but what you want is
Jesus to ditto the requests then not
until there was an act of faith Jesus
says to his father I thank you that you
have heard me oh so you can’t miss Jesus
does not waste words now only does he
not waste words he does not waste tenses
of words he didn’t say I thank you that
you hear me I thank you that you heard
me which means we’ve already discussed
this crisis that Lazarus is in when they
prayed the first time at the beginning
of chapter 11 you and I father had a
conversation so now Jesus praise I thank
you’ve heard me I know that you always
hear me but because of the people
standing around
I said it so that they might believe
that you sent me ah now we got a clue
Jesus holds off on answering the prayer
because he wants to use the crisis to
bring a lot of people to salvation oh so
now there is a spiritual reason for a
crisis delay in spite of a prayer being
prayed because there’s a bigger Kingdom
purpose at work than just the healing of
Lazarus if you’re in a crisis and God
has not moved and you’re operating by
faith all that means is the delay is
tied to a bigger point that God wants to
accomplish for his glory
the and the amplification of the name of
his son and the advancement of his
kingdom so you keep praying to a crisis
if you’ve not heard no then you keep
praying so so Jesus prays it’s called
intercession Hebrews 7 24 and 25 where
God Jesus intercedes as our counselor he
goes before us and he delivers us out of
us think his situation because guess
what he says verse 43 Lazarus come forth
so Lazarus walks out of the tomb kinda
here’s my final point as he’s exiting
the tomb the man who had died came forth
bound hand and foot with wrappings his
face was wrapped around with a cloth
jesus said to them unbind him and let
him go hmm when Lazarus has life but
what he doesn’t have is freedom
because he’s bound his hands were bound
his feet was bound he’s wrapped like a
mummy you wrap a mummy he’s wrapped from
head all the way to to the toe so he has
life but no liberty everybody in this
morning who’s a Christian that means you
have life but not everybody who’s a
Christian has liberty you may be bound
by an addiction bound by an emotional
struggle bound by a health situation
something may be holding you hostage
even though you have life now watch this
Jesus gave him life but Jesus did not
directly give him liberty he said he
told them to unloose him and let him go
let me explain something good Jesus
Christ
wants to give every sinful person
eternal life he offers life through his
blood but he sets folk free through his
people he still does it but he does it
through his people that’s why God wants
every Christian to be an active part of
a local church so that you can be
unwrapped if you’re trapped or so you
can unwrap somebody else
if you have been unwrapped yourself God
never meant for you to come once a week
to hear somebody preached the Bible
alone he wants you part of a family so
you can be in the unwrapping untying and
deliverance business so that you can be
helping somebody else and somebody helps
you he wants us unbound from this habit
that happened this sin that sin this
circumstance that’s what the church is
supposed to be it’s not any a weekly
event it is a family relationship where
folks are being loosed and set free
that’s why that’s why the book of
Matthew chapter 10 verse 8 says if
you’ve been freed free somebody else
Galatians chapter 6 5 verse 13 says
through the Liberty that you have
serve somebody else and if you’re not
serving others in the family of faith
but you’re only coming to serve yourself
that’s not called worship service that’s
called worship selfish because you’re
just in this for what you’re gonna get
out of it and you will always limit what
God does for you if you can’t work
through you to do it for somebody else
so we are in the untying business of
losing people and letting them go so in
closing I know there are many crises
here but I want you to pray through it
even if it’s gotten worse and not better
because I want to let you know right now
that God can turn things around for his
own purpose
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life wouldn’t be life without a crisis
would it even one just came out of one
or in or later you’ll run into one
things that overwhelm you
well I want you to join me in praying
through the crisis the thing where you
are desperate for God and make sure you
connect your prayer with obedience when
prayer becomes connected with doing what
God told you to do then not only do you
get to pray you get to see Jesus pray on
your behalf or as the scripture says to
make intercession for us when you’re in
a crisis you need an inner seat of
somebody to help you out Jesus Christ is
so situated to be that supernatural help
so in your crisis get a partner in
prayer through your prayer and your
obedience and let’s see what miracle
awaits you
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you
[Music]
[Applause]
you
you